England in South Africa: Squad Selection Poses More Questions Than Answers

The upcoming test series between England and South Africa should be a fine spectacle, with two evenly-matched sides going at it in conditions that offer plenty to both.

Both possess a pair of world-class seamers at the peak of their powers, a couple of extraordinary batsmen with a penchant for scoring big, a burly all-rounder that is capable of great feats....and a whole bunch of selection headaches into the bargain.

South African edge the markets but the make-up of England’s squad has hardly helped; it lacks any sense of clarity as to which direction this test team is heading in.

For Ian the Bell Tolls

The emotions that greeted Ian Bell’s absence from the squad ranged from a knowing nod to an outpouring of grief, and it is sad that a class act that has been at the centre of his country’s finest performances in recent years has been relegated to the ranks of cricketing Marmite.

Perhaps it has been a while in coming, however. Bell has averaged just 20 with the bat in 2015, and a turgid series against Pakistan has – temporarily at least – brought the curtain down on the 33-year-old’s England career.

The concern is finding somebody to contribute the weight of runs he scored the last time that the Three Lions toured South Africa in 2009/10. Bell accumulated 313 runs in just four matches at an average of 44.71: and that will take some replacing.

Out of the Shadows

Bell’s absence offers opportunities for others of course, and it appears that two players who have been welcomed back into the fold after a period away from the international fold will get first dibs at filling the number three slot in England’s batting order.

Nick Compton, at the grand old age of 32, will be given a second crack at test cricket following a reasonable stint in the side from 2012-13. He scored two tons in bowler-friendly New Zealand and a gritty half-century in the Indian dust bowl of Eden Gardens, if little else. 

An average of 31.93 in tests is hardly anything to write home about, but those runs did come as an opener. Compton has experienced something of a re-birth as a number three for county side Middlesex, and he is likely to have the first bite of the cherry in the same role on this tour.

Having just turned 26, Gary Ballance represents better long term value than Compton, and his crabby demeanour at the crease shouldn’t detract from a Yorkshireman who is more than capable of scoring runs by the bucketload. 

A test average of 47.76 from 27 innings is fantastic, and if his technique hadn’t been so cruelly exposed by the Aussies in the Ashes summer then Ballance would surely have been on the plane to the Middle East. He will need to dig in, as his Yorkshire contemporaries like to say, but after a glittering 18 months in an England shirt prior to the summer it is clear that Ballance is up to the task.

In a Spin

It is no secret to anyone that Moeen Ali will start the test series against South Africa as first choice spinner – he offers so much with the bat and is able to exert more control than his ‘rivals’ for the role.

But how disappointing it was to see Adil Rashid bumped from the squad by Samit Patel. The latter, at 31-years-old, represents neither the present nor the future of English spin bowling, and in the third test against Pakistan he neither looked dangerous or able to hold an end up (his match economy rate was around 3.80) in friendly Sharjah conditions, and that is of huge concern.

Rashid is far from the finished article – and indeed he may never be a test-standard spinner – but surely he represents the smarter option; even if it is as a drinks carrier at the moment.

Seam Dream

The loss of both Mark Wood and Steven Finn to injury is a cruel blow, as surely either/or would have enjoyed themselves in such agreeable surroundings for seam bowlers.

The inclusion of Mark Footitt is long overdue, county cricket purists will tell you. As a leftie he poses a different kind of threat to the right-handed Proteas pair of AB De Villiers and Hashim Amla, and presumably his ability to swing the ball late at a decent lick has earned him the nod.

Chris Woakes’ call up has been justified by his decent form in the ODIs in Dubai, but he remains a one-dimensional bowler that seems to lack the requisite ‘X Factor’ to be a success at test level. Liam Plunkett must be wondering why he has carried the drinks around the Middle East with such diligence.

Possible Team for the First Test?

The various permutations are numerous then heading into the Boxing Day test at Durban, although the following is perhaps the most likely starting eleven:

Alastair Cook (capt); Alex Hales; Nick Compton; Joe Root; James Taylor; Ben Stokes; Jos Buttler; Moeen Ali; Stuart Broad; James Anderson; Mark Footitt.